NASCAR Race Recap – Martin Truex Jr. Wins Coca-Cola 600
Coca-Cola 600
Charlotte Motor Speedway – Charlotte, North Carolina
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Age: 38
Team: No. 19 – Bass Pro Shops/Tracker/USO Toyota
Owner: Joe Gibbs Racing
Crew Chief: Cole Pearn
IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “We never gave up on it and kept working and kept tweaking, and the last 100, 150 laps it was really good. Just thankful for all of them for the hard work, and we’ve got an awesome race team, and now that we’ve got some momentum here and a little confidence on the mile-and-a-half, that’s a really good sign for us moving forward.”
– Martin Truex Jr.
- Martin Truex Jr. won the 60th annual Coca-Cola 600 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday night. It was Truex’s 22nd win in 490 career starts and his third victory this season.
- Joey Logano finished second while Kyle Busch came in third. It was Logano’s series leading seventh top-5 this season. For Busch, it was his third top-5 in his last four starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- Chase Elliott and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top 5. For Elliott, it was his fourth consecutive top-5 finish this season. It was Stenhouse Jr.’s first top-5 this season.
- Truex led the most laps (116) and won Stage 3. Brad Keselowski meanwhile, led 76 laps and won Stages 1 and 2.
- With wins to their credit this season Busch, Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Keselowski, Logano, and Truex Jr. have clinched a spot in the 2019 MENCS playoffs, which culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship race on Sunday, November 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
- Tyler Reddick won the 38th annual Alsco 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was his fifth win in 62 career NXS starts and his second victory in the last three races this season.
- Justin Allgaier finished second and Jeffrey Earnhardt came in third. It was Allagier’s third top-5 in the last four races and his fifth top-5 finish this season. For Earnhardt, it was his best career finish in 157 career starts across NASCAR’s three national series.
- With wins to their credit this season, Michael Annett, Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and Reddick are the only drivers to have clinched a spot in the NXS playoffs, which concludes with the Ford EcoBoost 300 championship race on Saturday, November 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES
- The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series was off this week and will return to action on June 7 at Texas Motor Speedway.
- With his victory in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, Austin Hill is the only driver to have secured a spot in the NGOTS playoffs, which concludes with the Ford EcoBoost 200 championship race on Friday, November 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.